Windsor and Amherstburg will join eleven other cities in Ontario in marking National Disabilities Employment Awareness Month by taking part in the "Light It Up" campaign.
Windsor City Hall and Amherstburg Town Hall will be lit up with purple and blue lights Thursday night to highlight the contributions people who have a disability make in their communities.
The campaign started in the U.S. in 1946, but this year's display is a first in Canada.
Purple and blue lights will also light up the iconic Horseshoe Falls in Niagara Falls, the Canada Life Building in Toronto, the CN Tower, Welland Bridge 13 over the canal, and city halls in Sarnia and London.
CEO of the Ontario Disability Employment Network, Jeannette Campbell said the response from businesses, organizations, and municipalities this year has been "incredible."
The campaign initially submitted requests to light up just the Horseshoe Falls, the Welland Bridge 13, and the CN Tower.
"It just grew so quickly after that," said Campbell. "We were getting acceptances for every request. That's when we knew we had something great -- collectively, we can have an impact."
Within days, the network and its member organizations took to social media using the hashtag #LightItUp1022" to encourage businesses to participate.
Most locations will turn on the lights at 6 p.m. and shut them off Friday at 7:30 a.m.
Campbell hopes it will motivate more businesses to be proactive and intentional about inclusive hiring.
"It's an opportunity for businesses to reflect on their hiring practices," said Jen Wheatley with Community Living Windsor. "Inclusivity has obviously been in the news for different reasons, a range of people have been traditionally disenfranchised and this is an opportunity to say people with disabilities is one of those populations that are often overlooked for jobs and positions and that needs to be rectified."
According to ODEN, about 59 per cent of Canadians with a disability are employed compared to about 80 per cent of Canadians without disabilities.
